Posted by Alexandra Cappetta
Let’s say you’re looking for a new bank. You head to a review site to seek out promising options for an organization that you can trust and will fulfill your needs. When you head to the first prospect’s website, it’s practically abandoned. There’s little description of their services, few features highlighted, no visuals or contact information, and not much to inspire confidence that this is the right place to handle something as important as your finances. Based on your first look at their brand, you might continue searching for something more appealing, inviting and compelling, right?
Bad branding has an impact.
Similarly, when candidates seek your organization’s profile on job boards and want to learn about the opportunities you have to offer, you’re helping them establish a positive perception of your organization, or employer brand. The question is: Is it working?
A profile that’s lacking or incomplete is one of the fastest ways to turn a candidate’s search in another direction. That’s why it’s key to make sure your organization profile is consistently updated, attractive and successfully elevates your brand to the physicians and advanced practice providers you intend to recruit. Here’s how.
- Ask yourself what you’re including (and why)
An organization profile should do more than just take up space; it should provide a clear picture of your health system as a whole. However, if your organization has multiple locations, you’ll want to make sure you’ve crafted facility profiles that adequately cover details specific to each location, such as amenities, the culture of this particular community, services, specialties and more.
When considering what to include in your organization’s main profile, you should first ask why it would matter to potential recruits. In other words, is the information you’re sharing adding value to your opportunities - or is it burying them?
An empty profile is damaging, but so is bogging down your profile with unnecessary details. Think about what you’d want your candidate to know if they were to leave your profile learning only six things about your organization and community.
Would they learn who you are as an organization? What it might be like to practice at your facility alongside your current team? When you were established or received the accreditation or awards you want to highlight? Where you’re located? Why your organization seeks to make a difference (your organization’s vision)? And how your health system is unique?
If you’re not sure whether your profile is complete, ask yourself if it’s adequately responding to these questions. The answer should be a resounding "yes" if you’re going to attract and compel the best candidates to apply. Consider asking a colleague to review your profile and give their thoughts about how it’s working - they can also offer insight, like what your CEO, medical director or leadership might think when they read your profile.
- Use visuals
It’s well understood that the human brain can process visual information faster than text. Not only can it help with more immediate comprehension, but it can add an attractive element that’s more inviting.
Aside from cosmetics, text in the presence of images is also more memorable. So, if you’re aiming to not only boost the visual appeal of your organization and facility profiles, and want prospects to remember you, it’s a good idea to incorporate some type of visual component.
If your organization operates from a single location, your profile can share an image of your campus, the surrounding area or a short video promoting some of your health system’s features. If you’re a multi-facility health system, these visuals should also be included, but uniquely specific to each facility. On any platform, but especially on your profiles, images will help candidates picture themselves within your community.
- Remember formatting matters
No matter how strong the content of your profile, the likelihood of a candidate being interested hinges on its presentation. When composing your profile, you’ll want it to be clear and easily readable to keep a prospect engaged.
Nobody likes to read a block of unformatted text, and most people would rather scroll than squint, so use paragraphs to separate sections highlighting different aspects of your health system or surrounding community. Bulleting lists, including awards or any recognitions you want to mention can also help with visual appeal and organization.
It shouldn’t be harder than necessary for prospects to digest the information you’re presenting. Make sure it’s clear-cut, organized and each section has a defined purpose or objective.
- Speak to your culture
Ultimately, the goal of your organization’s profile is to help candidates get a better understanding of what it would be like to practice at your health system(s), what kind of team will rally around them and generally, how their (and their family’s) lifestyle will fit into your community.
Share details like your health system’s mission, values and goals, and how they’re being enacted on a daily basis. Make sure you’re providing some background on your health system’s overall size, patient capacity, number of employed health care workers and other important aspects. You’ll also want to include awards, honors or accreditations that may be of interest to candidates.
When physicians and APPs commit to a job, they’re also committing to a location. Wherever your facility or facilities are placed, you’ll want to identify how you can best present your organization to prospects. If a rural area, emphasize your tight-knit and collaborative team, and any opportunities for mentorship and advancement. You may also play up the small-town feel and mention the opportunity to serve a smaller community more directly, as well as surrounding wildlife or natural attractions that may be attractive to your prospects and their families.
Urban health systems can draw attention to a larger and more diverse team of peers, mentors and patients. You can also mention popular destinations in the surrounding area and the appeals of city-life. Regardless of whether a prospect will be relocating, your profile should include details that help candidates picture your health system and team, and just as importantly, where they’ll be spending off-hours with friends or family.
- Make it easier to learn more or connect
One of the most common errors in an employer profile is leaving sections incomplete, particularly the contact information. If a candidate comes across your profile and wants to learn more, it should be as easy as possible for them to do so. Make sure the appropriate recruiter contact for interested candidates is clearly displayed on your profile, and double-check that the necessary email, phone numbers and web address are continuously updated.
Many systems will also allow you to upload a complementary picture of the recruiter or contact. This is a great way to make your organization’s profile feel more personal; it gives users the impression they’re reaching out to a real person rather than an elusive email or contact number. At the end of the day, the completeness of your profiles and the ease to which candidates can get in touch with you are among the most important influences on a candidate’s willingness to pursue your opportunities.
Branding your organization to candidates doesn’t have to be an uphill battle. It can start with sharpening the tools you have, like your organization’s profile, to drive a stronger interest in your health system’s openings. As you continuously update your organization’s profile, make sure you’re giving candidates something to remember, and compelling them with what they need and want to know about how they can thrive at your health system.
Read more from the better branding series:
Part 1 of the series: Crafting strong job postings to attract candidates
Part 3 of this series: Building trust with your candidates